


The Camping Trip, or, Frankie Watterson Decides He Wants To Take The Second Chance Richard Gave Him And Be A Good Father/Grandfather

by Theflannelwizard



Category: The Amazing World of Gumball
Genre: Camping, Comedy, Family, Family Fluff, Fluff, Frankie is doing his best to be a family man, Gen, He has A Moment with each of his grandkids, JoJo calls him out for being a deadbeat dad, No Romance, Not that much comedy actually but it's lighthearted, and he decides to get his shit together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:20:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26767912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theflannelwizard/pseuds/Theflannelwizard
Summary: Frankie Watterson is a bad person. But Richard doesn't seem to believe it, and maybe that means there's some good in him after all.After JoJo calls him out in front of the whole family, Frankie decides to put in the effort to redeem himself and become a family man. So he takes the Wattersons camping.
Relationships: Frankie Watterson & Richard Watterson
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	The Camping Trip, or, Frankie Watterson Decides He Wants To Take The Second Chance Richard Gave Him And Be A Good Father/Grandfather

Frankie Watterson was a bad man. His wife told him so, his conscience told him so, and the police told him so. He was a swindler, a con man, a good-for-nothing, sleazy jerk. But, for whatever reason, his son Richard had yet to realise that. Which was why Frankie had been invited to lunch with Richard and his family.

Frankie wasn’t one to turn down time with his son, especially if it meant free food. So he put on his hat, straightened his tie, and showed up as close to on time as he could. Timing had never been his strong suit. He rang the doorbell just two minutes late, which really wasn’t late at all, and anxiously smoothed his shirt. Richard was at the door within seconds, his smile wide as ever.

“Pop! You came!” he cried, throwing his arms around Frankie’s shoulders. Frankie hugged back, awkwardly patting his son on the back.

“Of course I did, Richard. I’m not bailing on you again.” Frankie laughed tersely at his own joke, wishing he hadn’t said it out loud.

Richard beamed as he let go and led his father inside. Nicole and the kids sat at the table, as did Granny JoJo and Louie. Wait a minute. No one had told Frankie that JoJo would be there. This might be more uncomfortable than anticipated.

“Dad, you can sit by me and Mom, okay?” Richard seemed oblivious to JoJo’s glare as he patted the chair between JoJo’s and his own. “Since you already know us the best!”

Frankie gulped and sat down, unsure of what else to do. As long as he was civil, hopefully JoJo would be, too.

“Hello, Joanna.”

“Francis.”

Okay, based on her tone and her use of his full name, JoJo was definitely not happy with him, but Frankie couldn’t fault her for it. He knew he wasn’t the good guy here. JoJo was far from perfect herself, but he wasn’t in a position to call her on it. 

“Great! Now that everybody’s here, let’s get started,” Nicole chirped, obviously trying to compensate for the tension in the air with her upbeat tone. “Gumball, would you like some rice with your chicken?”

Gumball accepted, and the dishes were passed around the table as Nicole led a stilted and one-sided conversation.

“So, Frankie, how have you been lately? We haven’t heard too much from you.”

“Why am I not surprised,” JoJo muttered. Frankie pretended not to notice.

“Thanks for asking, Doll. I’m doing just fine- nothing too exciting going on, but sometimes no news is good news, right?”

“I suppose so. Anais, why don’t you tell everybody about your science project?”

Anais perked up at that, and as she began chattering excitedly, JoJo leaned over and started talking to Frankie under her breath.

“Now, listen here, Francis. I know Richard wants you back in his life, and I can’t stop him from loving you, but he’s such a sweet, naive boy, and if you take this opportunity to use him or hurt him again, there will be hell to pay, d’you hear me?”

“I didn’t want to hurt him in the first place,” Frankie whispered back, “but either way, I think I know better than to make the same mistake twice. And I have to ask, why exactly did he turn out so naive? Could that be the result of all the coddling I told you would hurt him in the long run?” He knew he shouldn’t have said it, especially not then and there, but, then again, timing had never been Frankie’s strong suit.

“Oh, you think you can critique my parenting? You think you can tell me that I should have taken a more hands off approach? You certainly know about hands off approaches to parenting, don’t you, Francis?” JoJo’s voice was rising, and Anais had trailed off, turning to look at her grandparents.

“I know I fu-” Frankie glanced at the children, “...messed up, alright? I get it! But that doesn’t change the fact that you raised him to be incredibly gullible! No offense, Richard, I think you’re a wonderful young man.”

“Not that young!” Richard said, popping a bite of chicken into his mouth with an oblivious grin.

“At least I raised him!” JoJo cried, slamming her fist on the table. “I’ll take your critiques when you can say the same.”

Frankie sighed and started wringing his hands.

“Okay, Joanna. Maybe you’re right. I know I wasn’t the best father or husband. I was barely a father and husband at all. But can you at least give me a chance to redeem myself? I love this family! Heck, I may not be in love with you anymore, but I still care for you! I thought I was protecting you when I left. Obviously, I was wrong. But I’m trying to make it right. Can you let me try?”

JoJo stared at him, and something in her eyes softened. For just a second, Frankie saw a flash of the young woman he had married so many years ago.

“I can let you try,” she conceded. “But that doesn’t mean you have my trust. Or my respect. Just that you have a chance at earning it.”

“Thank you, JoJo.” Frankie paused awkwardly, looking around the table. “Wow, Nicole, this chicken is delicious! What’s the secret ingredient? Love?”

Frankie kept his word, taking every opportunity to get closer to Richard and his family. But everything he attempted seemed to go wrong in a markedly Frankie sort of way. He offered to take them white water rafting, but Nicole shut that down upon learning the only raft Frankie had access to was a mattress he had taken off the side of the highway. He took his grandkids to the mall, and Darwin, ever the goody two shoes, reported him to mall security for shoplifting before he even took anything. He tried to help Anais with her baking soda volcano, and it literally blew up in his face. Even his attempts to read the kids a bedtime story backfired. Apparently they were more interested in magic and dragons than their Miranda rights.

“I don’t know what to do, Richard,” he confessed, slumping onto the couch. “I really do want to be a good father and grandfather, but it’s in not my nature. I’m a crook. I’m a rotten man.”

“No you’re not,” Richard said, sitting down and placing a hand gently on his father’s shoulder. “You’re the best dad I ever had! Sure, you made some mistakes, but you’re trying! That’s what I always do. Just keep trying until, eventually, something works.”

“Thanks, Richard,” Frankie sighed, “But I’m not like you. I don’t have your goodness and optimism. Trying again and again works for you because you’re inherently good. But I’m not lucky like that. I’m a bad person. I probably always have been, and I probably always will be.”

“Well, you don’t have to be.” Richard’s eyes sparkled with faith as he looked at Frankie. “You weren’t a bad person when you taught me to play baseball. And you weren’t a bad person when you brought Mom flowers because she was sick and stuck in bed. And, you know what? I don’t even think you were a bad person when you left to get milk. Scared, maybe, or a little stupid. But not bad. And even if you were bad then, you don’t have to be bad now.”

Frankie looked at his son, touched and surprised by his speech.

“I… I guess you’re right,” he managed, tugging uncomfortably at his shirt. “I guess, if you really want me around, I can keep trying.”

“I know you can,” Richard said, a quiet smile on his face. “And I know you will. Because you love us. You said so yourself.”

“Yeah, I do! I love my family!” Frankie stood up with renewed vigor. “And I am giong to prove it to you! I’ll prove it to all of you! I am going to take my family… uh… camping!”

“Camping?” Richard asked. “Have you ever been camping?”

“No, but I was homeless and on the run for thirty years, so I figure I’ve gotten close enough. Besides, that’s a classic bonding activity, right? Camping with Grandpa Frankie!”

“Okay!” Richard cheered, standing up. “Camping with Dad! Kids,” he called, running to the stairs, “pack your things! We’re going camping!”

“Not now, Richard,” Frankie chuckled. “Maybe this weekend? I gotta get ready.”

“Okay! Kids, do not pack your things yet! We’re going camping over the weekend!” Richard turned back to Frankie and grinned. “I’m so excited, Dad! We’re gonna have a great time!”

Frankie spent the rest of the week preparing for what he wanted to make the best camping trip ever. He bought the biggest tent he could afford- only made to fit four people, but they could squish together- as well as a sleeping bag, marshmallows, and everything else he could think of. The computer in the public library became nearly permanently occupied as he tried to do research about camping and what to do in case they saw a bear or got caught in a storm. By the time the weekend rolled around, he felt almost totally ready. He parked outside the Wattersons’ house, and Richard and Gumball rushed out, backpacks bouncing on their backs.

“Hi, Grandpa Frankie!” Gumball cried. “I can’t believe we’re going camping! It’s going to be a true test of our ability to rough it. Shouldn’t be a problem for me, I’m a natural predator, but Darwin and Anais might need protection.” He dumped his backpack on the floor of the car and climbed into a window seat.

“Yeah, we’re gonna have to be real tough out there,” Frankie laughed. “You never know how many beasties might be out in the woods. Bears and snakes and spiders.”

“Spiders?” Gumball repeated, his voice uncharacteristically high pitched.

“Eh, don’t worry about it, kid. I’m just messing with you.”

“We have to take two cars, Pop,” Richard interjected, “So I’m gonna ride with you and the boys, and Nicole is taking Anais!”

“Sounds good. Where are those three, anyway?” Frankie asked.

“Right here!” Darwin yelled, slamming the front door open with his mother and sister in tow. “I swear, I saw a rainbow right here on the floor, but then the sun moved and it disappeared!”

Nicole laughed lightly as she walked past her son. “Don’t worry, Darwin, I believe you. Now hop in the car, alright? We don’t want the sun to set before we get to the campground. Drive safe, Frankie!”

“Don’t worry, I will,” Frankie called out the window as he turned the car on. He made a mental note to actually stop at stop signs as long as Nicole was following him, and pulled out onto the street as Darwin buckled in. The ride to the campsite was loud and rambunctious, all four Watterson boys singing Down By the Bay with increasingly obnoxious rhymes from Gumball and Darwin. They pulled into the parking lot as Gumball scream-sang about a mutt sniffing its own butt and Darwin collapsed into a fit of laughter. Nicole parked beside them and walked over to help carry what Frankie had packed for the trip. 

“Hi, Grandpa Frankie,” Anais said. “What are we gonna do tonight?”

“Hey there, Anais. We’re gonna do all the classic camping stuff. You know, a campfire with marshmallows, maybe a singalong or some scary stories, and sleeping under the stars! Well, under the tent, but we can stargaze before we go to sleep.”

“Is there WiFi here?” Gumball asked, tapping irritably at his phone.

“No, Gumball,” Nicole cut in, “there isn’t, and even if there was, don’t you think we should put our devices away? This is family time!”

“Geez, I was just asking,” Gumball grumbled, but he put his phone in his pocket and was soon smiling again.

Frankie led everyone to the campsite as Nicole led a call and response song that Darwin in particular seemed to enjoy. Upon their arrival, Richard let out a yelp of joy. 

“Look, everyone! The campsite! Now we just have to set up the tent and make a fire, and then it’s time for the hot dogs and marshmallows!” He ran into the clearing, glowing with joy. “Come on, Dad! Pitch the tent!”

“Right,” Frankie said, “I’ll get on that.” He hoped his voice didn’t betray his uncertainty. The truth was, Frankie had never pitched a tent before, and despite having read a WikiHow article that made it seem simple enough, he didn’t want to mess it up. He struggled with the poles, eventually shoving them into place, and hammered the stakes into a fairly flat spot that he figured was a safe distance from the fire pit, tucking in the ground cloth. That looked about right. 

“Do you all want to put your sleeping bags in the tent since it’s up?” he asked, wiping a bit of sweat from his brow.

“Our what?” Darwin asked. “I thought you brought those.”

“No, I don’t have six sleeping bags. Just the one. Richard, where are your sleeping bags?”

“You said you were bringing everything,” Richard shrugged. “We’ve never been camping before, but you said there was no need to buy anything.”

Goddammit. 

“Okay, well, you can have mine, but I only have one. I did bring some blankets. Maybe those will work for the kids? It’s not supposed to get too cold tonight, and we’ll probably be pretty tight in there anyway,” Frankie said, silently cursing himself. Of course Richard wouldn’t think to get his family sleeping bags. JoJo hadn’t raised him with critical thinking skills, she had raised him to trust that the people he loved would take care of everything, absolutely everything, for him. Still, this wasn’t gonna break the whole trip. It could still be fun.

“I told you we should have asked about that one, Richard,” Nicole sighed. “But what’s happened has happened. We’ll work it out. Now, who wants to go find sticks for the fire?”

Gumball and Darwin jumped up, excited, and Nicole gave them a tired smile. 

“I had a feeling you two might. Stay safe, and be back within half an hour.”

“Yes, Mrs. Mom!” Darwin replied, running off with Gumball just ahead of him.

Frankie looked at Anais, who was sitting alone on one of the wooden benches that surrounded the fire pit. She raised her chin to meet his gaze, offering a small smile, and patted the bench next to her. Frankie sat beside her, trying to think of something to say to his granddaughter.

“So, you’re a real clever girl, aren’t you? You like school?”

“I really like learning,” Anais gushed, “and I’m at the top of my class! I don’t know if Mom and Dad already told you, but I’m a grade above Gumball and Darwin even though I’m so much younger than them. I had to test in. And I won first prize at the science fair last year! I built a robot. If I still had it, I would show you, but it was too big to keep around. I did keep all the blueprints, though.”

“That’s really impressive, kid! Are all your friends the brainy type, too?”

“I don’t really have that many friends,” Anais admitted. “I did make one friend pretty recently! Her name’s Jamie, and she’s way tougher than me. We don’t actually have that much in common, but we went on an unlikely adventure together, and now our bond is unbreakable! But my very best friends are found in the pages of literary classics. There’s no company like Elizabeth Bennett!” Anais giggled, raising her shoulders as she did.

“Elizabeth Bennett? She in your class?”

“No, Grandpa Frankie, she’s the main character of Pride and Prejudice. I assumed you had read it, but maybe it wasn’t on the curriculum when you were in high school.”

“Believe me, Anais, I have no memory of what I was reading in high school. That was eons ago! I do read though, or at least I try to. Have you read Lord of the Flies?”

“Of course!” Anais gasped, beaming. Frankie thanked his lucky stars that someone had left a copy of the book on the train he had hopped a few weeks ago, and that it had caught his attention after he picked it up to hide his face.

“Yeah, I felt real bad for that Piggy kid. He was just doing his best, and he still got taken out in the end, huh.”

“Yes! The way that Golding crafts the parallels between Simon and Jesus Christ are also fascinating to me, especially since the world the book is set in is so harsh it could arguably be called godless. Not to mention the brilliant critique of a specific culture. Did you know the author went on record saying he didn’t think a different group of people would become so cruel and savage? Lord of the Flies is specifically about upper class British schoolboys.”

“I did not know that,” Frankie admitted, “But I do now! You really are a smart cookie!”

“Thanks! What other books have you read?” Anais beamed up at her grandfather, clearly expecting an intelligent response.

“Well, uh, I read the newspaper almost every day, and... I really liked Of Mice And Men.” That was a lie. Frankie hadn’t been able to finish Of Mice And Men, but it was the first title that came to mind. “Especially the part with the… uh… the mice. But how about you? I want to hear all about the things you like!”

“Oh! Really?”

“Sure! I have four whole years to catch up on, right? I wanna know what my granddaughter is all about!”

Anais’ smile somehow managed to get even bigger as she started babbling happily about her favourite books. Frankie barely understood a word she said, but he found himself smiling and nodding anyway. Maybe he wasn’t a literary genius, but he could still appreciate her enthusiasm.

“...and I think it’s really fun to read the original fairy tales after watching the movie versions, because they’re so much darker! Like, Cinderella’s stepsisters cut off a toe and a heel, respectively, and the little mermaid fails to win the prince’s heart and turns into seafoam! Fairy tales and folklore are all so scary and messed up. I think it’s fascinating!”

“Oh, definitely. What happened to, say, Rapunzel in the original?”

“The prince fell off the tower, his eyes got gouged out, and he wandered around blind until Rapunzel escaped with the children she had with him- not that he knew he was a father, she never got a chance to tell him- and she cried into his eyes, which for some reason gave him his vision back. It’s crazy stuff.” Anais paused, squinting at Frankie. “I didn’t expect you to be so much of a reader. Dad definitely isn’t.”

Frankie shrugged. “To be honest, I’m not really much of a literature person. I’ve read a few books, sure, and I like hearing you talk about them, but you’re much more of a scholar than I ever was. It’s very impressive.”

Anais grinned again. “That makes sense. And thanks. I got lucky and I really like learning and studying. It doesn’t come naturally to everyone. Also... are you sure you like listening to me? A lot of people find it boring or overwhelming.”

“Of course I like listening to you! Trust me, I wouldn’t lie about something like that. The more lies you tell, the more you have to keep track of, so I try to only lie about the important stuff. Which reminds me, if anyone asks, I absolutely do pay all my taxes. Actually, I don’t know why they would ask a four year old about that. Never mind.”

Anais laughed as Gumball and Darwin appeared in the distance, charging back from the woods. 

“We have sticks,” Gumball shouted, panting. “We have so many, see? I found most of them, but Darwin really helped with the carrying, even though he’s not as strong as me.”

“Hey!” Darwin protested, slowing to a stop. “I found almost all of the ones I’m carrying!” He stepped toward the fire pit and dumped his sticks in unceremoniously. 

“Mr. Dad, can we start the fire now? I’m hungry after all that searching.” Darwin brushed bits of bark and dirt off his arms as he spoke.

“I don’t see why not,” Richard responded, perking up at the thought of food. “Where are the matches, Pop?”

“Right here!” Frankie pulled a box of matches out of his pocket and struck one, tossing it into the fire pit. Darwin’s sticks lit quickly, and the fire crackled as it grew to a decent size. Gumball tossed a few of his sticks in, then set the rest by the side of the fire pit for later.

“Great!” Richard cheered. “And now for the hot dogs!” In one swift motion, he grabbed the hot dogs out of the cooler, opened the packaging, and tossed them all into the fire.

“Richard! What was that for?!” Nicole gestured to the fire incredulously.

“Well, they have to cook, don’t they?” Richard smiled obliviously at his wife, but his smile faded as he realised what was happening. “Wait a minute. That’s not how you cook them, is it.” He looked pathetically at the blackening hot dogs on the ground. 

“Now what do we eat?” he whimpered.

“We still have chips and marshmallows,” Frankie offered, patting his son on the shoulder. “It might not be a feast, but it’s food, and it tastes good. There should be sodas in the cooler, too.”

“Here, Dad,” Gumball added, “Use this stick to roast marshmallows. I have enough good, long sticks for everyone.” He passed the sticks around as Frankie rummaged through his backpack to find the marshmallows. Before long, everyone had a marshmallow or two on their stick and a few side conversations had broken out. 

“Thanks for taking us all out here, Pop,” Richard said, scooting closer to his father on the bench. “I’m glad I have you back.”

“Aw, Richard, it’s my pleasure. I missed you all these years, you know. It’s good to be back together.”

Richard’s face lit up, and he leaned in for an awkward, one-armed hug. 

“I love you,” he mumbled as Frankie patted his back. 

The moment was interrupted by Darwin’s voice.

“Uh, Mr. Dad? I think your marshmallows are on fire.”

They were. Richard startled into an upright posture, blowing frantically on his burning marshmallows. The flames subsided, but the marshmallows were decidedly charred. Luckily, Richard didn’t seem to mind. He took one in his mouth whole, wincing a bit as it burned his tongue, then hummed contentedly and pulled the other off his stick and popped it into his mouth as well. Nicole chuckled quietly at her husband’s antics, then pulled her own perfectly golden marshmallow away from the fire.

“The sun’s starting to set,” she noted. “Do you want to tell stories before bedtime?”

The kids cheered, and Gumball’s hand shot into the air.

“I have one!” he cried, wiggling excitedly in his seat. “Once there was a girl who always wore a ribbon around her neck. Her boyfriend would ask sometimes if she would take it off, but she always said ‘not yet.’ At Prom, she kept it on. At their wedding, she kept it on. Even on their 50th wedding anniversary she kept it on. The couple grew old together, and the woman fell ill. As her husband sat by her side in the hospital, she said to him, ‘My time has come. Now you can take the ribbon off my neck.’ So he did, and her head fell off!”

Darwin gasped, eyes wide, but Anais just scoffed. 

“That doesn’t make any sense! If the ribbon was really all that held her head on, there would be no way for her to eat or breathe! She would have to have been dead the whole time!”

“Who’s to say she wasn’t?” Gumball retorted, smiling evilly into the flames. “Ooooooh, spooky!”

“I have a story that’s actually scary,” Anais said. “Once there was a dumb big brother who didn’t study for any of his tests. When it came time to apply for college, he couldn’t get in anywhere good because of his grades! And that dumb brother… was you!” She laughed as Gumball spluttered in protest.

“That’s not scary! That’s just mean!”

“If it’s so mean, why are you laughing?”

“Something can be mean and still be kinda funny!”

“I have a scary story,” Frankie said. Huh. He hadn’t planned on saying that. In fact, he wasn’t even sure he did have a story. But now everyone’s eyes were on him, so he decided to do what he did best- bluff and hope it turned out alright.

“Uh, many years ago, there was a young man camping in this very forest. He was out here all alone, because his friends had all been too scared to come. They said the legendary bear of the woods would get them, but the camper didn’t believe in the bear of the woods. He thought it was just a normal bear at worst. But when night fell, he heard sticks cracking underfoot, as if someone- or something- was approaching the campsite.”

Gumball and Darwin both leaned forward toward the fire, Gumball in excitement and Darwin shivering.

“He zipped up his tent and tucked the zipper inside. Now nothing could get in... Or so he thought. The footsteps got closer and closer until he could hear snuffling and smell an awful stench. Suddenly, a set of giant claws tore through the top of his tent. It was the bear of the woods! The man screamed for help, but there was no one else around. He unzipped the tent and ran as the bear of the woods tore through his supplies. No one knows whether the bear of the woods caught him, but they do know that he was never heard from again.”

Boom. Frankie sat back, pleased with himself for improvising so smoothly. Gumball nodded, looking slightly pale.

“See, Anais? That’s a scary story.”

“But there is no bear of the woods, right, Pop?” Richard asked. “That was just a story. You know, to make sure the kids aren’t too scared.”

“Of course there’s no bear of the woods! I just made that up right now.” 

“See, kids?” Richard sighed, relieved. “No bear of the woods, no reason to be afraid.”

“And even if there were a bear of the woods,” Frankie quipped, “I bet your mom would scare it off! No bear is scarier than a mama bear when she’s protecting her kids, am I right?”

For a second, Nicole had looked like she might be offended, but her face relaxed into a short laugh. “That’s absolutely true. I’ll always protect you kids,” she said, scooping Darwin into her lap.

“Hey, look!” Anais cried, pointing. “Fireflies!”

Dusk had fallen as the family was telling stories, and fireflies had come out, their glowing forms scattered across the sky. Some also hid in the grass and trees, and as Anais pointed, one floated past her finger, earning oohs and aahs from Anais, Nicole, Richard, and Darwin.

“I wanna catch one,” Gumball announced, hopping off the bench and creeping into the grass. Frankie stood up and walked over to him.

“I’ll bet you fifty cents you can’t catch one before I can!” he said.

“Frankie! Don’t encourage him to gamble!” Nicole reprimanded, but she couldn’t help but smile a little.

“Relax, it’s only fifty cents. I’m not gonna land him in big debt,” Frankie responded, searching for a firefly to snag.

“Besides, I bet with Gumball all the time,” Darwin chirped. “Usually not for money, but honestly, being his slave even for an hour is definitely worse than losing a dollar.”

Frankie laughed a little at that, still scanning the ground for a firefly. He knew they were easier to trap against the ground than to grab out of the sky. A flicker of light came from just a few feet in front of him, and he crept toward it, so focused on being stealthy that he didn’t notice Gumball until the boy came barreling out of nowhere to land atop the firefly. Startled, it fluttered away, leaving Gumball empty handed.

“I totally had that one!” Frankie cried, exaggerating his exasperation.

“I know,” Gumball said smugly. “Even if I didn’t catch it, you still haven’t won.”

“Oh, so we’re playing like that?” Frankie teased. “You better look out, champ. You don’t know what you’re messing with here.”

“I like my chances,” Gumball replied, his eyes narrowing in determination. He swiped at a firefly in front of his face, coming close to catching it but ultimately missing. 

A soft glow caught Frankie’s eye, and he turned to see a firefly resting on a tree at about eye level to his right. He tiptoed over to it as Gumball continued to chase one in flight, and trapped it against the tree. Boom. But as he turned over his shoulder to call out to Gumball, he had second thoughts.

“Drat,” he said, a little too loud, “I missed it.” He dropped his arm back to his side, letting the firefly fly away.

“I didn’t!” Gumball yelled triumphantly. “Look!” He ran over, a faint light shining through the gaps between his clasped hands. Darwin cooed at the sight of the firefly, and Frankie’s heart warmed at the sight of his grandkids so happy. He was starting to feel like a real grandpa, maybe even a pretty decent one.

“You did it. You beat me,” Frankie said, reaching into his pocket for some change. If fifty cents could buy this sort of joy in Gumball, he would have to bet against the kid more often. 

“Don’t spend it all in one place,” he teased, handing Gumball two quarters. Gumball gladly took them and put them in his pants pocket as Darwin and Anais watched his firefly flutter away.

“Don’t make a habit of this,” Nicole warned, a friendly lilt in her voice.

“Don’t worry, Nicole, I don’t think I could afford to!” Frankie joked, giving his daughter-in-law his most charming grin. “Not with Gumball being so quick, and Anais so clever, and Darwin so full of heart. There’s no beating these kids!”

“What about me?” Richard asked. “What’s my good trait?”

“Well, you’re loving, and kind, and wonderful, and I’m very proud of you.” Frankie couldn’t tell if his tone was too heartfelt or not heartfelt enough, but Richard seemed to really appreciate it. He nodded and shuffled over for another hug. Man, Richard was a hugger, but Frankie didn’t really mind. It was better than him being cold or angry, which most people probably would have been after being walked out on. But Frankie didn’t want to think about the past or the mistakes he’d made. He was doing his best now, and he had been given a second chance, and if Richard was willing to let bygones be bygones, Frankie was more than happy to do the same.

“Come on, everyone,” Nicole said gently as Richard stepped backward out of the hug. “Let’s clean up and go to bed. It’s getting dark.”

The six of them squished awkwardly into the tent, Nicole and Anais huddled in the sleeping bag while Darwin and Gumball wrapped themselves in blankets. Richard simply laid himself down on the ground, scrunched himself into a ball, and threw one arm over his dad. It was far from the most comfortable Frankie had ever been, but there was an odd charm to it- something genuine and sweet in the closeness of his family, because they were his, weren’t they? He was gaining their love and their trust, and maybe he really did deserve it. Sure, he was the vermin man, and he wasn’t the best role model, but he had been trying, really trying, and it seemed like he might finally be getting it right. 

As Richard’s snores filled the tent, Darwin tapped Frankie on the shoulder.

“Grandpa Frankie? Are you awake?”

“Yeah,” Frankie whispered. “What’s going on, kid?” 

“It probably sounds silly, but… I’m scared of the bear of the woods.”

“Aww, Darwin, the bear of the woods isn’t real. And even if it was, you’re perfectly safe here! You got me and your mom and your dad all looking out for you!”

“But what if it tore through the tent and got us?”

“Then I guess we’d have to hit it with the old one-two. You know that move?”

Darwin shook his head, a curious smile starting to form on his face.

“Eh, it’s basically just a punch. But after that, that old bear of the woods would be so surprised we were fighting back that it wouldn’t know what to do. And that’s when your mother finishes it off. The bear of the woods wouldn’t know what hit it!”

Darwin sniffled and laughed quietly.

“Now, c’mere. If you’re really scared, you can join the cuddle train your dad started. I’ll put my arm over you, and you put yours over Gumball, and then we’re all keeping each other safe and cozy, capiche?”

“You got it,” Darwin giggled, turning over and fixing his blankets. “Good night, Grandpa Frankie.”

“Night, Darwin.” Frankie smiled to himself as he fell asleep. This family stuff was definitely different, but it was nice.

The Wattersons woke in the morning to sore backs and a frustrating number of mosquito bites, but they smiled at each other nonetheless. Richard helped Frankie take down and pack up the tent as Nicole and the kids double checked that everything was cleaned up and put away, then they shoved everything into the cars and the kids clambered into the backseats.

“I thought maybe it would be nice to go out for breakfast,” Nicole suggested, out of earshot of the kids. “We could go to that nice little diner on our way home. My treat.”

More time with his family and free food? Frankie agreed right away, and Richard’s excitement was palpable. 

“I’ll ride with you and the boys again, Pop!” Richard climbed into the front seat of Frankie’s car and grinned, the boy he used to be shining through more than ever.

As Darwin and Gumball laughed in the backseat, Frankie felt a warmth spread through his chest. That was contentment, he realised. He was finally becoming a family man, and he couldn’t be happier. If only he had been there for Richard all along… but then, timing had never been Frankie’s strong suit, and if he couldn’t change the past, the best time for change was now.

**Author's Note:**

> I am, if you couldn't tell, a Frankie stan!! Let the vermin man redeem himself and be a member of the Watterson family! I hope you had fun with this story- I sure did :)


End file.
